Summer tires in winter

This is a discussion on Summer tires in winter within the Wheels and Tires forums, part of the General Help category; Who knows why Tire Rack etc warn not to use summer tires and drag radials in the winter below 32 ...

Do Summer tires work in winter?

Who knows why Tire Rack etc warn not to use summer tires and drag radials in the winter below 32 degrees outside? Does something physical happen to them and they are ruined for the next summer or do they just loose traction when its cold and how much ie behave like you are driving on snow flurries all the time?

I have summer biased tires on my Formy right now. I got stuck in a snow storm we had here a few weeks ago. I didn't know it was going to snow, so I drove the Bird and not my Jeep to work, 30 miles away.

Driving VERY slowly and carefully, I made it halfway home. Then I came to the long, somewhat steep, hill I have to go up on my way home. Yeah, needless to say, I didn't make it up. 3/4 of the way up and I lost all momentum. I had to back down, which was fun, and I ended up leaving the car overnight at a CVS, and having my roommate come pick me up in my Jeep.

There's a good reason right there not to run summer tires in the winter.

I wasnt planning on driving in the snow but as you point out it could happen. I was more concerned that Ive heard summers get hard in the winter and you loose traction on dry ground sort of like using Nitto in the rain. No sense driving it if you have to baby the gas all the time.